2013 Draft Possibilities

Seems like we are all on the same page guys...Teo if we stay 43...Star/Hankins if we switch to 34...Best Olineman available in the 2nd...best safety available in the 3rd...I think we could very well end up with 3 more than capable starters if this is how we draft...

If we took Manti Teo (MLB) I think we could go 3-4. That may just benefit the Defense as a whole more so than taking a DE in the draft.

Ayers - McCarthey - Teo - Brown (Rotate Whimbley/Morgan/Witherspoon)

Martin - NT(Draft/Fa) - Casey (Rotate Klug, Marks?, DT (Draft/FA)

I think our D just immediately gets better with the added bonus of depth and player personel in the right positions.

What do you guys think?

I feel like if we switched to a 34, we wouldn't need Teo as much as we'd need one of the top nose tackles...We would have Wimbley/Brown/McCarthy/Ayers at LB and we could find rotation players in free agency...there's no way we could switch to a 34 without a good, big nose tackle...and since they are scarce in free agency, I feel this would be the better option than Teo

I would be happy enough to switch to the 3-4, but I dont think its likely.

My thought this week is that Star is going to fall to us. We are going to be picking 5th/6th. There are two guys that are going to shoot into the top 10. Sheldon Richardson is one. The guy is going to light up the combine, probably run a 4.8 or something. In my opinion he has more upside than Star.
Mike Glennon is gonna be a top 10 pick as well, maybe top 5. Something like this:

1. Chiefs - Smith QB
2. Jaguars - J.Jones DE/OLB
3. Cardinals - Glennon QB
4. Raiders - Richardson DT or if Mingo DE runs a 4.55 as proojected they'll take him.
5. Titans - Star DT
Thats not including Joeckel(LT),Te'o(MLB) and Werner(DE) who are all predicted in the top ten as well.

Put it this way, I think Star's stock has maxed out at this stage, I only see other Lineman improving their stock. I think there is a pretty real good chance he's there when we pick.

Therefore, my ideal draft looks like this.

1. Star Lotulelei DT 6'3 320lbs Utah StateTitans are delighted to see the top guy on their Big board fall. Everyone on Defense just got a lot better. We need to get an interior push to flush the QB. His ability to stuff the run will help teams from running right through us.

2. Matt Elam SS 5'10 202lbs FloridaCBS has him ranked at 35, he'd need to come down to 38 for us. It's possible, but I think a playoff team might take him at the end of the 1st. He is that good, and we are that bad a SS, that if by chance he makes it till day two, we should trade up to 33 and take him.

3. James Collins DE 6'4 240lbs Southern MissTough, versatile kid. Has played Safety, Linebacker and Defensive End. I would use him most as a DE because he is a little suspect in coverage. Talk of 4.55 speed and super productive. Has the frame to support some more weight/muscle!

4. Alvin Bailey RG 6'4 315lbs ArkansasA huge man, very good in pass blocking from what I've seen. Bit of a deal here. CBS has him as a 3/4th pick, so thats about here.

4. Tyrann Mathieu CB 5'9 178lbs LSUThis is a sneaky pick. We pick him as a punt returner, but he will challenge for the NB. Reminds me of Finni on the field. I decided to not rule out bad boys after seeing Burfict play for the Bengals the other night. Wow!

I would be happy enough to switch to the 3-4, but I dont think its likely.

My thought this week is that Star is going to fall to us. We are going to be picking 5th/6th. There are two guys that are going to shoot into the top 10. Sheldon Richardson is one. The guy is going to light up the combine, probably run a 4.8 or something. In my opinion he has more upside than Star.
Mike Glennon is gonna be a top 10 pick as well, maybe top 5. Something like this:

1. Chiefs - Smith QB
2. Jaguars - J.Jones DE/OLB
3. Cardinals - Glennon QB
4. Raiders - Richardson DT or if Mingo DE runs a 4.55 as proojected they'll take him.
5. Titans - Star DT
Thats not including Joeckel(LT),Te'o(MLB) and Werner(DE) who are all predicted in the top ten as well.

Put it this way, I think Star's stock has maxed out at this stage, I only see other Lineman improving their stock. I think there is a pretty real good chance he's there when we pick.

Therefore, my ideal draft looks like this.

1. Star Lotulelei DT 6'3 320lbs Utah StateTitans are delighted to see the top guy on their Big board fall. Everyone on Defense just got a lot better. We need to get an interior push to flush the QB. His ability to stuff the run will help teams from running right through us.

2. Matt Elam SS 5'10 202lbs FloridaCBS has him ranked at 35, he'd need to come down to 38 for us. It's possible, but I think a playoff team might take him at the end of the 1st. He is that good, and we are that bad a SS, that if by chance he makes it till day two, we should trade up to 33 and take him.

3. James Collins DE 6'4 240lbs Southern MissTough, versatile kid. Has played Safety, Linebacker and Defensive End. I would use him most as a DE because he is a little suspect in coverage. Talk of 4.55 speed and super productive. Has the frame to support some more weight/muscle!

4. Alvin Bailey RG 6'4 315lbs ArkansasA huge man, very good in pass blocking from what I've seen. Bit of a deal here. CBS has him as a 3/4th pick, so thats about here.

4. Tyrann Mathieu CB 5'9 178lbs LSUThis is a sneaky pick. We pick him as a punt returner, but he will challenge for the NB. Reminds me of Finni on the field. I decided to not rule out bad boys after seeing Burfict play for the Bengals the other night. Wow!

IMO the 4th pick is the best pick to be at right after KC, Jacksonville, and Oakland. Gives us great versatility to do whatever with the pick. KC is looking at QB or LT, which is what most #1 picks are. #1 you are looking at Smith or Glennon or Joekel. #2 probably pass rusher like Jones. #3 is tricky because Oakland needs a lot as well. Probably pass rusher here as well but may possibly take T'eo if they move from McClain. At #4 that leaves us with possibilities like T'eo for ourselves or Star or Hankins or anyone else. It also leaves us to plenty of trade down possibilities as well. Philly and Arizona are looking at probably going for LT (Joekel) if he isn't taken #1 or Matthews. If Joekel is taken then the value of Matthews rises due to those 2 teams wanting him. Also San Diego and St. Louis will be probably looking at LT as well which could make Philly and Arizona more anxious to do a trade with us and thereby give up a little more. If Joekel isn't taken it is possible to trade down twice and still be in the top 10. With this trading it is still possible depending how far down we go that T'eo may still be available. You also have San Diego and Detroit who may be looking at trading up for T'eo as well. In a dream scenario it would maybe be possible to pick up 1-3 second rounders along with extra 3-7 rounders as well and still pick 15-20 range. I wouldn't mind picking 15-20 if we got 2 or 3 extra 2nd rounders plus the later round picks as there is plenty of talent that is going to be left that has 1st round grades.

I see a lot of people wanting to move Ayers to 4-3 DE full time. I don't think this is a really good idea. He is a LB with pass rush capability. He is not a 4-3 DE. He does not have to handle gap responsibilities or set the edge against the run. Would be like watching the Colts but worse since they are not Mathis and Freeney. Even though they got a lot of sacks they were always at the bottom of the league vs the run and they are actually very good rushers with plenty of rush moves. They always got gashed since their team was so small, they were fast but small. I don't trust Ayers to be able to do that and plus it would wear him down over the season and decrease his effectiveness as well. Wimbley actually need to come in on passing downs as he is also a liability vs the run. He would probably be more effective and get more sacks if he is able to just purely rush the QB and not have to get pushed around in the run game.

I would like to get those trade downs and pick up some extra seconds. With the 1st pick I would go Ansah. I don't think it would be fair for the Giants to pick him up and have JPP on one end and Ansah on the other. I like Dion Jordan and I believe he will revolutionize defenses as he is a 6'7 DE (probably better as OLB though) that can rush but also split out wide and cover slot receivers and the big TEs that are coming out now. He can jam at the line or fluidly turn and run downfield. He will be a beast on the right team that knows defense (Steelers, Packers. 49ers, and Texans). He allows a team to stay base defense but run anything from it. Especially useful for the teams that like to go uptempo as you can keep him on the field but he can act as the NB due to his athletic capability as he played TE before transitioning or he can come in and blitz as well.

Back to Ansah though. I watched his snaps (not just highlights) and the guy looks like a man on the field. Played 3-4 DE, NT, and OLB so he faced a lot of double which accounts for the lower sack number than others. Against one team though he made 2 consecutive plays for 1yard losses starting at 1st and goal from the 1. However from watching him he is always trying to make a play. If he cannot get to the QB he has his arms up and JUMPING to try to swat the ball if it comes in his direction as evidenced by his 8 or 9 pass deflections. Our players rush head down and don't bother looking at the QB. They just don't have the awareness to make a play. You aren't going to make it to the QB all the time so look at JJ Watt and put your hands up if you can't get there and deflect the pass as it may be just as good or better than a sack if it leads to a turnover.

My draft
1st Ezekial Ansah 6'6 270 DE (or OLB in 3-4)
2nd Kawann Short 6'3 315 DT or Louis Nix III 6'3 326 DT/NT if Short isn't available
2nd Margus Hunt 6'8 280 DE
2nd OL if we get a third 2nd
3rd William Gholston 6'7 279 DE (played inside also so can play as DT)
I do like Mario Benavides in the 4th for a C.
This would give us more athleticism on our DL than we have had but also gives us players that are aware and looking at the QB to see what he is doing. This draft of DLinemen allows us to stay 4-3 or go 3-4 and still have depth at need positions. Gholston could be a steal if he comes out and we can get him in the 3rd. Athletically gifted as well but struggled with passrushing this year from what was expected of him. He still however got about 9 deflections though. A good DL coach could maybe bring out the full potential (i.e. Washburn). This gives us much needed height without sacrificing athleticism, speed, or awareness. It improves us in every way from that standpoint.

Those are just a few picks for the first few rounds. Probably would pick up additional 3-7 rounders if we traded back all those times. I know there are a lot of DL but we are thin at the DE position. Wimbley should be in only on pass rushing downs. Morgan has started to play decently of late but will be a FA after next season so a decision with him would have to be made. Casey is not a playmaker and is a backup at best although I know several people have a mancrush on him. I do like Martin against the run but he needs to develop a passrush. Klug is a passrush DT and I would keep him but outside of all the other DL they are some scrub juniors. They can't even get elevated to scrubs yet.

Need a new coaching staff. Wouldn't mind seeing Washburn come back to coach the DL. He always got the most out of the nonathletic garbage we had. Not endorsing going to wide 9 but just think what he could do with athletic freaks (Ansah, Hunt, Gholston) to go on the line and train them up.

Oh and in FA pick up DRC for CB, I would give Aaron Curry and shot as he was injured most of this year and would probably benefit from being in a 4-3 system instead of the 3-4 he has played. I think he could make good depth behind our LBs and possibly McClain from Oakland as a backup MLB to McCarthy. I also think he would be better as a 4-3 LB instead of the 3-4 he has played in Oakland. That is 2 top 10 picks over the last couple of years. If they don't perform then cut them in training camp but they were drafted that high for a reason. See what they got and if it is nothing then cut them.

Pick up a RB, another OL, more depth on the DL, and sure why not throw in a low risk/high reward pick at WR and we got a squad. Spend some money in FA on the other S position, another OL interior player, solid back up LB (incase you know who goes down), and a solid TE in case Cook is gone.

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